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'''Richard Nelson Frye''' (1920 - ) is a well known scholar of Central Asian studies, and emeritus ] Professor of Iranian studies at ]. '''Richard Nelson Frye''' is a well known scholar of Central Asian studies, and emeritus ] Professor of Iranian studies at ].


He is said to have served with the ] during ]. Frye graduated from ] in 1946. He has taught at Harvard from 1948 to 1990. He has also served as guest lecturer or visiting scholar at: Born in 1920, he is said to have served with the ] during ], but came back to the academia permanently a year later. Frye graduated from ] in 1946, taking up teaching positions at ] in ] (1942-44), ] (1948-90), ] (1959-60), ] (1968-69), ] of ] (1970-76), and ] (1990-92).


⚫ His professional areas of interest are Iranian ], and history of ] and ] before 1000AD.
* ] in ] (1942-44)
* ] (1959-60)
* ] (1968-69)
* ] of ] (1970-76)
* ] (1990-92).

⚫ His professional areas of interest are Iranian ], and the history of ] and ] before 1000 CE.


Professor Frye founded the ''Center for Middle Eastern Studies'' at Harvard. He also served as Director of the ''Asia Institute'' in ] (1970-1975), was on the Board of Trustees of the ] at ] (1974-78), and Chairman, ''Committee on Inner Asian Studies'', at Harvard (1983-89), and as Editor of the ''Bulletin of the Asia Institute'' (1970-1975 and 1987-99). Professor Frye founded the ''Center for Middle Eastern Studies'' at Harvard. He also served as Director of the ''Asia Institute'' in ] (1970-1975), was on the Board of Trustees of the ] at ] (1974-78), and Chairman, ''Committee on Inner Asian Studies'', at Harvard (1983-89), and as Editor of the ''Bulletin of the Asia Institute'' (1970-1975 and 1987-99).
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A ceremony was held in Iran on June 27, 2004 to pay tribute to the six-decade endeavors of Professor Frye on his lifetime contribution to Iranology, research work on the Persian language, and the history and culture of Iran. A ceremony was held in Iran on June 27, 2004 to pay tribute to the six-decade endeavors of Professor Frye on his lifetime contribution to Iranology, research work on the Persian language, and the history and culture of Iran.


In his will, Professor Frye has wished to be buried next to ''Zayandeh-rud'' in ]. Two other American Iranologists, ] and ], are already buried there. In his will, Professor Frye has wished to be buried next to ''Zayandeh-rud'' in ], as with the other two American Iranologists ] and ].


==Quotes by Frye==
The following quotes were made by Professor Frye in March of 2005 at a lecture at ]:

*The culture is what is important about Iran.
*]s believed in a cyclical view, like plants and trees, dying and coming back, rebirth and change of things, while Semites believed in a linear view; it is a time straight ahead to the end.
*Iranians believe in cycles and continuity.
*Iran is the classical land of ].
*A contribution of Iran is ] law, before them, law and religion were one. The ] brought universal and secular law not related of the locals.
*The gate of inquiry should always remain open, this is ]'ism.
*If ] behaves like an Iranian and not an Arab, Iraq will be secular.
*We have gone back to the middle ages of religious wars.
*Iranians need to learn how to survive as minorities overseas and how to protect their identity.
*Iranian poetry is world poetry, no one is better than the Iranian poets.
*Iran is an island, in which there is no religious war.

==Richard Nelson Frye on architectural development of Tehran==

Dr. Frye, launched the May 2004 Tehran architecture conference with a candid rebuke of the architectural development of Tehran. He said its leaders turned their backs on ] and looked toward the West—Paris, London and New York—for inspiration. "I think they abandoned Tehran", he said.

"Innovation, yes. But not slavish copying. Forgetting your heritage, forgetting your background is not recommended, to put it mildly", said Frye. Modern buildings in Tehran should maintain a Persian style and sensibility and "not be a copy of the bad architecture that sweeps the world in globalization", he advised.

"I think it’s essential that the heritage of a people be preserved. If ] came to ], what would happen to the bazaar?" Frye asked. He urged Iranians to work hard to preserve their identity.

==Dr. Frye on the role of Iran and the Persian language in the formation of Islamic culture==

Arab chauvinists from ] to today's ] have chosen to pretend that the Persian intellectual legacy does not exist. Osama Bin Laden is in fact the latest product of such pan-Arabism. The only difference between Bin Laden and previous pan-Arabists such as Gamal Abdel Nasser or ] is that he overtly perverts the spiritualism of the Islamic religion, to further aggrandize his vision of pan-Arabist imperialism.

It is not an exaggeration to state that Arab nationalists have re-written much of Arab history, especially as it pertains to Persian contributions to Islamic civilization. The following observation by Sir Richard Nelson Frye encapsulates the crisis in Arab attitudes towards the Iranians (R. N. Frye, ''The Golden Age of Persia'', London: Butler & Tanner Ltd., 1989, page 236):

"Arabs no longer understand the role of Iran and the Persian language in the formation of Islamic culture. Perhaps they wish to forget the past, but in so doing they remove the bases of their own spiritual, moral and cultural being…without the heritage of the past and a healthy respect for it…there is little chance for stability and proper growth".

Arab chauvinist ] once declared, ''History books that discredit the Arabs should be burned, not excepting the greatest work on the philosophy of history by Ibn Khaldun''. (Samir El-Khalil. ''Republic of Fear'', New York: Pantheon Books, 1989, p.177).

But why ]? As a historian, Khaldun (1332-1406 AD) is ranked among the best in history; truly one of the most best scholars produced by the Arabs. To understand why pan-Arabists feel uncomfortable with Ibn Khaldun, one has to read a direct quote from his work, The Muqaddimah Translated by F. Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 ; R. N. Frye (p.91):

"…It is a remarkable fact that, with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars…in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs…thus the founders of grammar were ] and after him, ] and ]. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar…great jurists were Persians… only the Persians engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus the truth of the statement of the propher becomes apparent, 'If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it' …The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians, left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians and Persian countries, ], ] and ] (modern ]), retained their sedentary culture".


==Books written by Frye==
==Bibliography==


⚫ *Bukhara: The Medieval Achievement 1965 Univ. Oklahoma Press
⚫ * ''The Near East and the Great Powers'', Harvard University Press, 1951
* ''Iran'', George Allen and Unwin, London, 1960 *Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, vol. III, Dura-Europos, London 1968.
⚫ *The Golden Age of Persia. Weidenfeld. London. 1993. Pbk.
⚫ * ''The Heritage of Persia: The pre-Islamic History of One of the World's Great Civilizations'', World Publishing Company, New York, 1963
*The Golden Age Of Persia: The Arabs in the East. Illus. in B&W. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (History of Civilization). 1993.
⚫ * ''Bukhara: The Medieval Achievement'', University of Oklahoma Press, 1965
⚫ *The heritage of Central Asia from antiquity to the Turkish expansion. Princeton : Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996.
* ''The Histories of Nishapur'', Harvard University Press, 1965
⚫ *The Heritage of Persia: The pre-Islamic History of One of the World's Great Civilizations New York: The World Publishing Company, 1963
* ''Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, vol. III'', Dura-Europos, London, 1968
*The Histories of Nishapur , HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES, DEPARTMENT OF SANSKRIT AND INDIAN STUDIES and distributed by the HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and London, UK. 1965.
⚫ * ''Persia'' (3rd edition) Allen and Unwin, London, 1969
*IRAN. George Allen and Unwin London 1960.
⚫ * ''The United States and Turkey and Iran'', Archon Books, 1971
*Bukhara, The Medieval Achievement. University Of Oklahoma Press Norman, Oklahoma 1965.
⚫ * ''Sasanian Remains from Qasr-i Abu Nasr. Seals, Sealings, and Coins'', Harvard University Press, 1973
⚫ *The Near East and the Great Powers. Harvard University Press Massachusetts 1951
* ''Neue Methodologie in der Iranistik'', Wiesbaden, 1974 *Neue Methodologie in der Iranistik, Wiesbaden 1974.
⚫ * ''The Golden Age Of Persia: The Arabs in the East'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1993
⚫ *NOTES ON THE EARLY COINAGE OF TRANSOXIANA. Numismatic Notes, 113. New York: American Numismatic Association.
⚫ * ''The heritage of Central Asia from antiquity to the Turkish expansion'' Markus Wiener, Princeton, 1996
⚫ *Persia. (3d ed.) London: Allen and Unwin, 1969.
⚫ * ''Notes on the Early Coinage of Transoxania; Numismatic Notes, 113'', American Numismatic Association, New York
⚫ *Sasanian Remains from Qasr-i Abu Nasr. Seals, Sealings, and Coins. Harvard University Cambridge, MA 1973 4to in cloth. 133 pg. of text, 457 illustrations.
⚫ *The United States and Turkey and Iran. Archon Books 1971


==See also== ==See also==

Revision as of 21:16, 13 March 2006

Richard Nelson Frye is a well known scholar of Central Asian studies, and emeritus Aga Khan Professor of Iranian studies at Harvard University.

Born in 1920, he is said to have served with the Office of Strategic Services during WWII, but came back to the academia permanently a year later. Frye graduated from Harvard university in 1946, taking up teaching positions at Habibiya College in Kabul (1942-44), Harvard University (1948-90), Frankfurt University (1959-60), Hamburg University (1968-69), Pahlavi University of Shiraz (1970-76), and University of Tajikistan (1990-92).

His professional areas of interest are Iranian philology, and history of Iran and Central Asia before 1000AD.

Professor Frye founded the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. He also served as Director of the Asia Institute in Shiraz (1970-1975), was on the Board of Trustees of the Pahlavi University at Shiraz (1974-78), and Chairman, Committee on Inner Asian Studies, at Harvard (1983-89), and as Editor of the Bulletin of the Asia Institute (1970-1975 and 1987-99).

A ceremony was held in Iran on June 27, 2004 to pay tribute to the six-decade endeavors of Professor Frye on his lifetime contribution to Iranology, research work on the Persian language, and the history and culture of Iran.

In his will, Professor Frye has wished to be buried next to Zayandeh-rud in Isfahan, as with the other two American Iranologists Arthur Pope and Phyllis Ackerman.


Quotes by Frye

The following quotes were made by Professor Frye in March of 2005 at a lecture at UCLA:

  • The culture is what is important about Iran.
  • Aryans believed in a cyclical view, like plants and trees, dying and coming back, rebirth and change of things, while Semites believed in a linear view; it is a time straight ahead to the end.
  • Iranians believe in cycles and continuity.
  • Iran is the classical land of dualism.
  • A contribution of Iran is Secular law, before them, law and religion were one. The Hakhamanesh brought universal and secular law not related of the locals.
  • The gate of inquiry should always remain open, this is Shia'ism.
  • If Sistani behaves like an Iranian and not an Arab, Iraq will be secular.
  • We have gone back to the middle ages of religious wars.
  • Iranians need to learn how to survive as minorities overseas and how to protect their identity.
  • Iranian poetry is world poetry, no one is better than the Iranian poets.
  • Iran is an island, in which there is no religious war.

Richard Nelson Frye on architectural development of Tehran

Dr. Frye, launched the May 2004 Tehran architecture conference with a candid rebuke of the architectural development of Tehran. He said its leaders turned their backs on Tehran and looked toward the West—Paris, London and New York—for inspiration. "I think they abandoned Tehran", he said.

"Innovation, yes. But not slavish copying. Forgetting your heritage, forgetting your background is not recommended, to put it mildly", said Frye. Modern buildings in Tehran should maintain a Persian style and sensibility and "not be a copy of the bad architecture that sweeps the world in globalization", he advised.

"I think it’s essential that the heritage of a people be preserved. If Wal Mart came to Isfahan, what would happen to the bazaar?" Frye asked. He urged Iranians to work hard to preserve their identity.

Dr. Frye on the role of Iran and the Persian language in the formation of Islamic culture

Arab chauvinists from Gamal Abdel Nasser to today's Osama Bin Laden have chosen to pretend that the Persian intellectual legacy does not exist. Osama Bin Laden is in fact the latest product of such pan-Arabism. The only difference between Bin Laden and previous pan-Arabists such as Gamal Abdel Nasser or Saddam Hussein is that he overtly perverts the spiritualism of the Islamic religion, to further aggrandize his vision of pan-Arabist imperialism.

It is not an exaggeration to state that Arab nationalists have re-written much of Arab history, especially as it pertains to Persian contributions to Islamic civilization. The following observation by Sir Richard Nelson Frye encapsulates the crisis in Arab attitudes towards the Iranians (R. N. Frye, The Golden Age of Persia, London: Butler & Tanner Ltd., 1989, page 236):

"Arabs no longer understand the role of Iran and the Persian language in the formation of Islamic culture. Perhaps they wish to forget the past, but in so doing they remove the bases of their own spiritual, moral and cultural being…without the heritage of the past and a healthy respect for it…there is little chance for stability and proper growth".

Arab chauvinist Sami Shawkat once declared, History books that discredit the Arabs should be burned, not excepting the greatest work on the philosophy of history by Ibn Khaldun. (Samir El-Khalil. Republic of Fear, New York: Pantheon Books, 1989, p.177).

But why Ibn Khaldun? As a historian, Khaldun (1332-1406 AD) is ranked among the best in history; truly one of the most best scholars produced by the Arabs. To understand why pan-Arabists feel uncomfortable with Ibn Khaldun, one has to read a direct quote from his work, The Muqaddimah Translated by F. Rosenthal (III, pp. 311-15, 271-4 ; R. N. Frye (p.91):

"…It is a remarkable fact that, with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars…in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs…thus the founders of grammar were Sibawayh and after him, al-Farisi and Az-Zajjaj. All of them were of Persian descent…they invented rules of (Arabic) grammar…great jurists were Persians… only the Persians engaged in the task of preserving knowledge and writing systematic scholarly works. Thus the truth of the statement of the propher becomes apparent, 'If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it' …The intellectual sciences were also the preserve of the Persians, left alone by the Arabs, who did not cultivate them…as was the case with all crafts…This situation continued in the cities as long as the Persians and Persian countries, Iraq, Khorasan and Transoxiana (modern Central Asia), retained their sedentary culture".

Books written by Frye

  • Bukhara: The Medieval Achievement 1965 Univ. Oklahoma Press
  • Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, vol. III, Dura-Europos, London 1968.
  • The Golden Age of Persia. Weidenfeld. London. 1993. Pbk.
  • The Golden Age Of Persia: The Arabs in the East. Illus. in B&W. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (History of Civilization). 1993.
  • The heritage of Central Asia from antiquity to the Turkish expansion. Princeton : Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996.
  • The Heritage of Persia: The pre-Islamic History of One of the World's Great Civilizations New York: The World Publishing Company, 1963
  • The Histories of Nishapur , HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES, DEPARTMENT OF SANSKRIT AND INDIAN STUDIES and distributed by the HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and London, UK. 1965.
  • IRAN. George Allen and Unwin London 1960.
  • Bukhara, The Medieval Achievement. University Of Oklahoma Press Norman, Oklahoma 1965.
  • The Near East and the Great Powers. Harvard University Press Massachusetts 1951
  • Neue Methodologie in der Iranistik, Wiesbaden 1974.
  • NOTES ON THE EARLY COINAGE OF TRANSOXIANA. Numismatic Notes, 113. New York: American Numismatic Association.
  • Persia. (3d ed.) London: Allen and Unwin, 1969.
  • Sasanian Remains from Qasr-i Abu Nasr. Seals, Sealings, and Coins. Harvard University Cambridge, MA 1973 4to in cloth. 133 pg. of text, 457 illustrations.
  • The United States and Turkey and Iran. Archon Books 1971

See also

External links

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